


I want your belly and that summer feelin

by Moonchild_RM



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alpha Lee Jeno, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Body Worship, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Lee Jeno is Whipped, Lee Jeno is a Panicked Gay, M/M, Masturbation, Mpreg, Mutual Pining, Omega Na Jaemin, Pregnancy Kink
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:42:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25785331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonchild_RM/pseuds/Moonchild_RM
Summary: "My roommate’s Moomin plushie.” His eyes widen impossibly before yelling “Your cat!! He took Renjun’s plushie. That’s why I’m here. But I got distracted. With you and your delicious smelling food.”Now it was Jeno’s turn to be embarrassed.Or in which Jeno's cat steals his neighbor's plushie, meets Jaemin and falls in love.
Relationships: Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin
Comments: 45
Kudos: 247





	1. Renjun’s Moomin plushie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first time I'm posting something. English is not my first language and I dont have a beta so there might be grammatical mistakes. But I hope you like it. :)

It was a Sunday afternoon and Jeno was lonely. For most people, the Sunday afternoon laziness was opted, more than forced. But not for Jeno. You see, after a seemingly out of blue intervention by his parents, they decide that it was good for Jeno to move out. Move out of his parent’s home, his home. 

Despite the humiliation of having this conversation with his parents, Jeno agreed calmly without any protests. His parents were surprised but elated that he agreed so quickly. Meanwhile, Jeno deluded himself into thinking that he needed the change. Which was far from the truth. The truth was that his parents needed him to change. 

Jeno knew that they were worried about him. Because despite finishing his academic obligations and being successful in his career as a freelance architect, Jeno was still staying with them. What troubled them the most, was that he didn’t seem to even seek out omegas to settle down with. Undeterred by the fact that he was close to being 27. Most alphas found their omega by 24 or at least had a few relationships, other than one night stands and rut partners by then. But Jeno didn’t. It was as if Jeno simply didn’t care. 

They were wrong of course. The truth was that Jeno was a hopeless romantic and yearned for someone. But he was bad at wooing omegas. He was insecure, rightfully so, according to him. After all, most omegas had a certain type they preferred when it comes to Alphas. Tall, broad, dominant, charming, and a whole lot of other traits Jeno didn’t have or didn’t have enough of.

His alpha was truly unhappy with how things were and he had spent most of his teenage and adult life disappointed at not being able to court the omegas he liked simply because he couldn’t gather the courage to ask. He wasn't particularly big or tall and he didn’t have an insanely large cock. He had a pleasant minty scent, but it was not the strong musky scent most alphas had and most omegas liked. To most, he seemed like a beta with his non-confrontational, calm demeanor. He strongly doubted any omega would want an alpha like him. 

However, when his parents confronted him about this and tell that the first step to getting an omega was to be independent, he agreed despite being mortified. He didn't see any immediate problems. After all, his job paid him well enough to be able to afford to live alone. 

He was wrong. 

Jeno concluded that he lacked the art of foreseeing problems. Staying with his parents meant that there was someone around him all the time. And while Jeno wasn’t the most social person, their company and the constant stream of their friends provided him with a sense of comfort, a relief from loneliness.

So here he was, less than a month after moving out, feeling lonely and sad. He was sprawled on his stomach, legs kicked back on the thick carpet in his living room watching the lion king for the nth time because he was desperate for nostalgic happiness. He watched blearily, a familiar scene of Mufasa speaking earnestly about the circle of life to the baby Simba. And Jeno wished he had a son to share his wisdom with. This made him realize that he hadn’t had an adult naptime in a while to make a baby. The last time he had sex was months ago when he was in a rut. And suddenly he was lonely, sad, and horny.

“Aaah what the hell”, he glared at his laptop screen, frustrated at himself for zoning out for the tenth time. He was wallowing in his sadness and he hated it. Happiness shouldn’t be this hard to achieve. So at that moment, he willed himself to get up to grill some meat. After all, it was hard for him to be sad if his tongue was happy. 

The alpha set up the grill and played songs from his favorite playlist. He opened his windows to air out the place as he cooked. He cut up some vegetables and thinly sliced some garlic and gets the banchans from last night out the refrigerator. He marinated the grill with some herbed oil and placed the vegetables at the edge of the grill and the thinly sliced pork and beef at the center. He watched the fat and juices from the meat dribble down the sides to coat his vegetables and his mouth waters.

He absently flipped the meat once he felt that it’s done on that side and wondered where Bongsik was. Bongsik, his common domestic cat, which he brought home from the streets years ago, was nowhere to be seen. Possibly angry at the change Jeno brought in her life by moving. He suddenly started worrying if Bongsik was out somewhere stealing. Because despite being fed enough by Jeno, Bongsik couldn’t let go of her bad habit of going out and stealing food from others. 

But what worried Jeno these days was that Bongsik had started to steal all sorts of things. Every day he would come home to see a new plushie or a sock or some trinket in his bed. He was waiting for that fateful day, when a neighbor would come knocking at his door, to complain about Bongsik. But he couldn’t discipline Bongsik no matter how hard he tried. And he refused to let her go back to the streets. Though at this point, Bongsik only came home to get her regular meals and at night to steal his warmth.

He removed the meat from the grill and added a few onion slices. Once he is done grilling, The alpha got some dishes out of the china cabinet because, yes, he loved collecting porcelain dishes. Just as he was about to sit to eat, he heard a rattle. He turned the music down and heard a knock. 

“Um,” he said, getting up wondering who it can be and made his way to the door. And that’s when he noticed Bongsik, next to the little pet window in his door, wrestling what looked like a hippo plushie almost double his size. 

“Hello”, A voice called out from behind the door and followed by another knock. Jeno’s face heated up because the fateful day he was waiting for was finally here. He was finally going to have a confrontation with a neighbor regarding Bongsik. He made his way to the door and looked through the peephole. He couldnt recognize the blurry blob behind the door. 

“Uh,” Jeno began but stopped because he doesn’t really know what to say next. “Who is it?” he asked. 

“I live two houses next to yours” the voice behind the door replied. 

Jeno mentally prepared himself for possible confrontation and slowly opened the door. 

Pretty was an understatement because the omega standing at his door was downright unearthly. 

He was about the same height as Jeno, hair dyed a pink cotton candy and skin as smooth as his porcelain dishes. All this, along with almond eyes paired with the thickest set of eyelashes Jeno had ever seen. 

“Hi” he smiled and Jeno didn’t know if he should be stunned by his gravelly voice or by his smile. The neighbor sniffed the air and his face twisted into a painful expression. 

“Damn that smells good”, the omega started, smiling nervously. “Can I have some? My cravings are shooting levels unknown to humankind”. 

There was a moment of silence as Jeno gathered his thoughts. He wasn’t expecting this. The omega’s face twisted into an even more awkward expression, thick eyebrows knotting and hands wringing, an apology already spilling out his lips. 

“I’m so sorry. God, that was so awkward. You don’t even know me. I don’t know why I even asked you that. But my cravings are insane right now and I don’t have a brain to mouth filter when I crave something. Or anytime honestly. And I’m having really weird cravings too. You know, just the other day I was about to eat up my roommate’s Moomin plushie. It sort of looked like cotton candy. I mean, like not really”, The omega stopped, closing his eyes as if he was willing himself to shut up.

He opened his eyes and continued almost pitifully. “I’m Na Jaemin. Your neighbor from two doors away and this is the reason why I might seem to be on the verge of insanity for you”, he hesitated before abruptly pointing at his stomach. 

And it finally clicked. 

“Oh”, Jeno exclaimed. “You’re pregnant” 

“Right!!” Jaemin supplies back, smiling widely. “I should have started with that” 

Jaemin suddenly stepped back and bowed as he said “Hello. I’m your pregnant neighbor Jaemin.” 

Jeno burst into a full-blown laugh, physically unable to hide his enthralment.

“It’s okay. I sort of liked the nervous rambling. But how can I help you Jaemin?” Jeno asked

Jaemin rose and smiled brightly before coming to a stop. His forehead creased and he started babbling.

“Wait. I was here for a reason other than food. My roommate’s Moomin plushie.” His eyes widen impossibly before yelling “Your cat!! He took Renjun’s plushie. That’s why I’m here. But I got distracted. With you and your delicious smelling food.” 

“Oh my god!! It’s scratching it. Take it away. Give it back to me or else Renjun will kill you” He pointed at Bongsik who was wrestling the said plushie. 

Now it was Jeno’s turn to be embarrassed. He stammered an “oh my god I’m so sorry” and tried to separate the plushie from Bongsik. Bongsik ended up scratching Jeno’s hand. Jeno ignored the pain and succeeded at getting the plushie away from Bongsik. He got up, face red, and looked at Jaemin. 

Jaemin’s eyes were wide, eyebrows shot up. He looked back at Jeno and laughed. “Wow. You got the plushie but how’s your hand neighbor? Are you going to ask me to come in or tell me your name now or something or should I continue calling you by ‘neighbor’”?

Jeno briefly melted at his laugh, smiling endearingly before snapping out of it. He stepped back and gestured Jaemin to come in. 

“Oh, I’m sorry, Yes! You can come in. I’m Jeno. Lee Jeno. I moved in a few weeks ago. Also, Congrats on the pregnancy”. He gave the plushie to Jaemin, who clutched it to his chest. Jeno’s eyes strayed to Jaemin’s round stomach and he felt heat pooling in his stomach. 

Huh. I didn’t know this was a thing, Jeno thought briefly before snapping out of it. 

“Thank you Jeno”, the omega caressed his stomach and smiled at Jeno, eyes crinkling and bunny teeth on full display. “I’ve never seen you around. I take it you are new here?”

Jeno’s stomach bubbled with a familiar feeling. “Yes. I moved here a month back. Felt like I needed a change in scenery you know”

Jeno lead Jaemin to the dining table desperately praying that there wasn’t any stray underwear that Bongsik had dragged to the living room. 

“Oh! Barbeque!! And I was just craving samgyeopsal” Jaemin’s eyes glittered at seeing the meat.

Jeno took out another plate and piled up the best-grilled parts and handed it over to Jaemin. “Yeah. I was missing home and we regularly had grilled meat. So I thought of making some”, he supplied. 

Jaemin stared at him for a long moment before taking the plate from him. “Moving out is definitely hard” 

Jeno felt his throat tighten. A well-acquainted feeling, a telltale sign he felt every time he wanted to cry. But he shook it off. 

Now is not the time, Jeno talked himself through it before looking back at Jaemin. “Tell me how it tastes”

Jaemin continued staring at him. Just when Jeno started feeling awkward, Jaemin took a large bite. 

His face twisted into one of pure ecstasy, chopsticks still in his mouth, juices from the meat smearing and spilling out his pretty lips. However, Jaemin didn’t seem to mind, moaning at the taste. 

“So...uh, How are you handling the sudden change? Doesn’t seem like you were thrilled to move” Jaemin teased. There was a smudge from the meat at the corner of his lips and Jeno had to physically stop himself from reaching over to swipe it. “Is this your first time away?”

“Ahh... yes” Jeno nodded, biting into his lips, gripping the chopsticks harder. “You must find it weird that someone my age still stayed with their parents until recently”

“Oh? No. Not really?” Jaemin said in between bites. “I stayed with my parents too till about a few months back. So I know how difficult it can be.”  


“Yes. But it’s different for an Alpha, you know” Jeno smiled but it felt unnatural on his face, even for himself.  


“Yes. Society does have some standards but I don’t think they are right” Jaemin smiled back knowingly and continued to take giant bites of meat.  


Jeno was relieved at Jaemin’s words and looked back at the omega. The omega was chewing on a radish now and the alpha couldn’t hold back his laugh at the omega’s adorable chipmunk cheeks.  


Jaemin’s face colored in embarrassment and he wiped his mouth. “Anyways, What do you do Jeno?”  


“I’m a freelance architect. What about you?”  


“Oh!! Freelancing. Must be difficult.” Jaemin bobs his head, chewing on a piece of grilled meat “I’m an app developer in a software firm. But I’m working from home now because of my pregnancy”  


“Sometimes. But I mostly just freelance for another architecture firm as an independent contractor.”

“Ohhh! Well, I'm sure you are amazing at your work if you are as good at it as you are at cooking”  


And then, out of the blue, Jaemin winked at him. It looked almost exaggerated but it suited him. Of course, it suited him. His face was perfect. Jeno startled a bit and Jaemin guffawed. They continued to speak a little more, about the mundane things like jobs, interests, and everything in between.  


By the time Jaemin got up to leave with the Moomin plushie clutched against his chest, Jeno had slowly gathered the courage to ask the omega to join him for dinner or lunch again at any time if he wanted to.

“Please, you have to join me for dinner sometime. I’ll make it up to you” Jaemin’s voice was firm and didn't have any room for argument. He was directly looking into Jeno’s eyes. Jeno marveled at the soft brown shade of his eyes. “Dinner at my house? I’d like to think I cook almost as good as you, if not better.” Jaemin winked again and Jeno knew he would never get used to it.  


“Come by around 8:30 tomorrow, its the olive-green house two doors down the lane and I’ll try to repay you for this wonderful meal.”  


“It was my pleasure.” Jeno smiled and walked Jaemin to the door. 

Bongsik was by the door chewing at Jeno’s socks. Jaemin bent down to caress it. 

“I’ve seen her steal my cream puffs so many times. But she is so cute, you know? So it’s okay. But I couldnt let her leave with Renjun’s Moomin plushie. He loves this thing you know” Jaemin declared, brushing Bongsik’s fur.

“Anyways, bye Alpha.” Jaemin smiled back and stepped out the door. Jeno lingered at the porch watching the omega disappear down the lane. 

He just got called alpha. His stomach erupted into a swarm of butterflies and he sighed dreamily before retreating back to his house. That night Jeno dreamed about being surrounded by the jasmine scented omega with a soft round belly, bunny smile and gravelly voice calling him alpha.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think? Please leave comments and kudos if you like it. It will serve as a motivation for me to write more.  
> Also the title is from Harry style's watermelon sugar  
> Thank you for reading. :)


	2. Jaemin's meatballs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There was a moment of silence. 
> 
> Donghyuck’s face turned evil.
> 
> “Never pegged you as the type to be into pregnant omegas, Jeno. You know what they say. It’s always the quiet ones”
> 
> Jeno rolled his eyes “Are both of you done? Can I get back to work now?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who read the previous chapter and to the ones who left kudos, bookmarks, and comments. I was really happy to see them. Without further ado, I hope you all enjoy this chapter as well.

It was Monday morning and Jeno already regretted waking up. 

Jisung and Donghyuck had raided his home demanding to know all about the omega Jeno managed to “bag”. They were all seated on his living room rug, a bowl of cheetos in the center. At this point, Jeno wondered why he bought the damn sofas when they weren’t being used most of the time. 

“I didn’t ‘bag’ anyone, Donghyuck.” Jeno rolled his eyes. “Also can we take this to the sofa, why are we even lounging on the floor when we can just use the sofas ”

“Not with that attitude”, Donghyuck fired back. “And no, we can’t. This rug is way more comfortable and you know it” 

Jeno did feel the same. The rug was thick, soft, and perfect. 

“Don’t you guys have anything else to do? It’s Monday. I have work. Go away” 

“I’m a vlogger Jeno. I am working.” Donghyuck says, smirking. “A part of my vlog is rescuing your pasty ass and this cutie right here”, he crooned at Bongsik, brushing her soft hair. 

Bongsik curled into Donghyuck, meowing cutely, playfully slapping away at his hands. Jeno felt betrayed. It felt like ages since he even got Bongsik to sit with him. 

“I took leave from my dance studio to listen to you whine about your perfect omega neighbor, in person, and this is the disrespect I have to face” Jisung exclaimed. 

“Well, I didn’t ask for you to come,” Jeno mumbled back, popping a few cheetos in his mouth. 

“Are you serious? What kind of best friends would we be if we didn’t come to see you have a breakdown over your first crush?”,Donghyuck proclaimed

“And also it’s funnier to see you have a breakdown than having to read over text about how ‘he has the most perfect face, Jisung’ and ‘His eyes make me forget about the sun because they are so bright Jisung’” Jisung snickered before adding “Your words dude, not mine”

Jeno suddenly felt very tired and bemoaned his decision of telling his friends about Jaemin. 

“He isn't my first crush” Jeno murmured back. 

“It certainly feels like it since I've not heard you talk about an omega in like ever” Donghyuck tittered. 

Jeno remained pensive. Donghyuck was sort of right. While he did have his fair share of crushes. None of them felt like this. This one felt like it would consume him. This one felt like it would last longer than any of his previous crushes. This one was strong enough for him to gush about it with his alpha friends. Despite knowing all too well that it wasn't one of the best things to confess to Donghyuck and Jisung. After all, both of them were well known for Jeno’s nerves. 

His chain of thought is broken by Donghyuck’s finger jabbing at his sides. Jeno slapped them away. 

“So he is pregnant” Donghyuck started. An evil look crossed his face and Jeno feared for his life. 

“Yes,” Jeno carefully admitted.

“You know what that means right?” Jisung questioned him, leveling his eyes at him. 

“What?” Jeno asked him back. He didn’t know what they were thinking and he didn’t really want to know either. But if he simply cooperated with them they might end this conversation faster. 

“Dude! If he is pregnant, someone must have knocked him up!!” Jisung leveled him another look, narrowing his eyes “You have thought about that right?” 

“Dude how does that matter? Jeno finally likes someone. I honestly didn’t think this day would come!”, Donghuck yelled, his mouth full of cheetos. 

“Are you hearing yourself? Do you plan on breaking apart a couple, a possibly married couple, A possibly married expecting couple because Jeno’s dick finally likes someone?” Jisung yelled back.

Jeno tuned them out. Jaemin’s alpha was someone Jeno honestly didn’t want to think about. Realistically, the possibility of someone as perfect as Jaemin to exist and not have an alpha was close to none. 

But he was happy being ignorant for now. It wasn’t even like he wanted to woo the omega. 

Wait, who was he kidding. Of course, he wanted to woo the omega. But he didn’t want to get his hopes up. He was fine being just a friend of the omega. 

He must have looked pained because Donghyuck shakes him. 

“Dude you okay there?” Donghyuck asked and for once he looked concerned.

He turned to Jisung and all but yelled “Look, what you did. He looks so out of it. And for what?? There is a possibility that he doesn’t even have an alpha”

“Hey! Why are you blaming me? I just wanted him to prepare for that possibility as well. He shouldn’t get his hopes up too much. What if he ends up meeting Jaemin’s alpha in what he thought was a dinner date with just the two of them? Wouldn't that be worse?”

Jeno got up and crossed the living room to go to the kitchen to retrieve a glass of water. The Cheetos along with this conversation was making him feel gross. 

“No, it’s okay,” Jeno mumbled, gulping down a few sips of water. “I’m not even trying to win him over”

Both of them gave him a look of pity. Donghyuck removed Bongsik out of his lap and she whined in protest. 

“Baby, Just a minute. I’ll be back”, Donghuck crooned at her. 

“Jeno, no offense but you sound lovesick. I’ve never seen you this way.” Donghyuck declared. 

Jeno sighed. “Does it matter?”

Donghyuck rolled his eyes. “Of course it does. Honestly, you both are worried for no reason now. Maybe Jaemin doesn’t have an alpha. You did say he didn’t have a mark”

“Yes but there’s always a possibility that he does. Marking is archaic. Not every couple does it. All I’m saying is that he should prepare for the possibility that he has a partner” Jisung intervened. 

“Why must you be like this?” Donghyuck whined. 

“Dude, I don’t know why you are being like this. Just let Jeno look Jaemin up online. What’s the harm in that? I'm not asking Jeno to give up on him. I’m just saying that it’s better if Jeno knows what he is getting himself into” Jisung reasoned. 

“Guys. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t talk about me as if I’m not here. Plus as I said, I don’t plan on wooing him anyways” Jeno scoffed. 

“Great! Look what you have done Jisung. He gave up on wooing Jaemin.” 

“I never had those plans Donghyuck” 

“Yeah as if.” Jisung and Donghyuck bellowed. They looked at Jeno and their faces melted back into a look of pity. 

It was as if a dam broke and Jeno couldn't stop himself. 

“Well do you blame me? He is perfect. He is so chill.” Jeno knew he sounded like a broken recorder but he couldn't stop. “He has cotton candy hair and the prettiest teeth. Like who has bunny teeth and looks that hot. It’s against the laws of nature to look hot when you have bunny teeth. But he still manages to do it. His eyes crinkle when he smiles and the corner of his lips… they form this… this perfect… this perfect thing... Like I don’t even know how to explain it. I spent an hour thinking about the corner of his lips yesterday. And he is pregnant” 

“Dude, I’m sure that the last one isn’t a positive one” Jisung chimed in. 

There was a moment of silence. 

Donghyuck’s face turned evil.

“Never pegged you as the type to be into pregnant omegas, Jeno. You know what they say. It’s always the quiet ones”

Jeno rolled his eyes “Are both of you done? Can I get back to work now?” 

Donghyuck shrugged. “For now. Let’s go Jisung ah. Don’t forget to give us all the saucy details of your date tonight”

I’d rather feed myself to crocodiles than do that Jeno thought, showing both of them to the door. Bongsik took this opportunity to run out of the house. Jeno worried if she would go back to thieving again.

Once they left, Jeno got back to work. But he didn’t get much work done. His mind wanders to the suggestion Jisung gave. He was right. There was no harm in going through Jaemin’s profile. 

So against better judgment, during lunch, Jeno started stalking Jaemin's SNS profiles. He found Jaemin’s Instagram profile and Jeno felt like he had found a gold mine. 

Active was an understatement. The amount of posts Jaemin had was endless. 

Jeno learned that Jaemin is a Leo his age who loved photography and biking. A lot of his posts were sceneries ranging from beaches to mountains. It didn’t even look amateur. If Jeno didn’t know better he would have thought Jaemin was a photographer by profession. 

A few posts were of him doing volunteer work and there were a few videos of him biking and acting cute. 

Jeno spent an unnaturally long time stuck on a loop where Jaemin is acting out a scene from the drama ‘fight for my way’. His eyes caught on Jaemin’s cherry-colored lips pouting, as he enacted the scene. And as Jaemin heightened his drama, reciting the lines ‘I’m not acting pretty, I’m born pretty’, Jeno couldn't help but agree. 

He found out about all the hair colors Jaemin had sported once upon a time. Nothing was as drastic as the current pink hair he had. Mostly neutral shades of blondes and browns. But he looked strikingly handsome in those too. Jeno wasn’t surprised. 

The first photo of him in pink hair was of him kissing a honey blonde male on the cheek, his face squished between Jaemin’s hands. 

He also noticed that Jaemin had a plethora of pictures with the honey blonde male who he found out to be Renjun from the captions. Jeno wondered if this was the same Renjun whose plushie Bongsik stole. The roommate. 

Unlike all of Jaemin’s other posts, the caption was not big enough to be an essay. But they were littered with the usual colorful emojis and hearts. 

The caption of this particular post with Renjun said “I’M PREGNANT! 💚 And I’m very excited. 💞 I can’t wait to give birth to this little bean and nurture them to be the best person on this planet. 🤩 This definitely is a dream come true. 😩 Renjun says he is scared that this bun would turn out to be like ‘another Jaemin’. Says he can’t handle the one he has already. I think he loves me a little too much so he tries and hides it. 💚💞 But it’s okay I love him back just as much. 😜😜💚”

Jeno’s heart wrenched a bit too painfully for Jeno’s liking. He wondered if Renjun was Jaemin’s alpha. He looked too small to be one, but he wasn’t one to judge based on stereotypes. Despite himself, he smiled at the post. Renjun looked tiny next to Jaemin in this post and both of them radiated happiness. Jeno stared at the post a bit more. He noticed the ton of bright plastic rings on Jaemin’s fingers and how pretty they looked on him before resuming scrolling. 

He scrolled a whole lot more. Going through posts of selfies, videos and loops without getting tired. But he didn’t find any posts with someone who could be Jaemin’s alpha other than Renjun. There were posts of him with a few other people, but none of them appeared nearly enough times to be Jaemin’s alpha. 

He wondered if he could somehow worm the question about the father of the baby without being too intrusive. He concluded that no matter how he asked it would be rude. 

Jeno looked at the time in his laptop and startled. It was already 4 pm and he had been scrolling through Jaemin’s Instagram for well over 3 hours. He got up and he regretted not moving sooner. His back was sore from sitting too long and his ass squished. 

He decided to give up on work, already having wasted the day doing nothing productive. Though he would argue that every moment spent admiring Jaemin was a moment well spent. 

He started to think about what would be an appropriate outfit to wear for dinner. Should he wear something casual? But how casual is too casual? Were sweatpants and loose shirts too casual of an outfit? Should he wear a button-down and suit? But that seemed too formal. 

He zoned out and started thinking back to that one post with Jaemin in swim trunks. It looked like Jaemin hit the gym a lot. He had washboard abs and a firm chest. He has prominent collar bones and shapely arms. His thighs looked firm too. 

Jeno thought it wasn’t a bad look on him. Jeno felt that maybe he was too far gone because he caught himself thinking that there wasn’t any look that was a bad look on Jaemin. 

The door rattled, jerking Jeno out of his thoughts. He bent from his work desk in his room to look out the door and saw Bongsik sauntering in. Thankfully this time she did not have anything in her mouth. 

Bongsik started meowing rather aggressively, the way she usually does for her evening snack. Jeno walked to the kitchen and opened a new tin of salmon. He carefully started emptying the contents of the tin in Bongsik’s bowl. Bongsik’s meowing turned more aggressive, impatient for the snack and she started circling Jeno’s legs. Jeno couldn't help but giggle at her antics. 

He looked down at her and his face twisted into one of confusion. There was a tiny, pastel blue note neatly folded in Bongsik’s collar. He bent, setting the bowl on the floor, and tried to stop Bongsik from squirming in his hold before retrieving the note. 

He carefully opened it up. There were a few lines written in small, neat handwriting in black ink. 

‘Caught this cinnabon trying to steal my meatballs at lunch today. Trapped her in my arms to pet her for 2 hours as a punishment. She seemed happy about it though. The nerve. But it’s okay. She is cute and I’m happy too. And I ended up feeding her the meatballs. I hope you don’t mind. Also, don’t forget our dinner tonight. Don’t be surprised if you end up tasting the best food you ever have’ - Jaemin ;)

Jeno’s belly flared up with a fluttery feeling and he started daydreaming about Jaemin exaggeratingly wink at him. And Jeno let out a lovesick sigh. Donghyuck was right. While he was sad that he was perpetually single, mostly because of his fault, he never felt like this for any other omega before. He never felt the need to pursue an omega as badly as he wanted to sweep Jaemin off his feet. 

But then he thought back to all the posts of Jaemin coddling Renjun, skin glowing from happiness, and thought that even if Jaemin did have an alpha, it was okay. It wasn't fair of him to partner-zone Jaemin the minute he got to know him anyways. Just getting to know Jaemin was a privilege enough. And with that, Jeno found a renewed vigor to choose an outfit for the dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got inspired to write this story after watching this video: "[My cat went to the neighbors to borrow a tiger plush toy :)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ug8Dcz3kyOA)"  
> The aegyo scene which Jaemin enacts is from the drama "fight for my way" : [Aera aegyo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Zvt9_ppO6g)
> 
> Also if you liked reading this chapter, please leave kudos and comments. Thank you. ^_^


	3. Jeno's Sofa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Not to mention, horny” 
> 
> Jeno’s mouth fell open and he spluttered. “W-what did you say?”
> 
> Jaemin’s eyes widened. “Wait, did I say that out loud?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who read, commented and left kudos so far. I'm incredibly thankful to each and every one of you. The chapter isn't beta read. If you find any typos, don't hesitate to point it out.

Jeno ended up calling Donghyuck for help because he couldn't choose what to wear.

“Jeno, calm down.”, Donghyuck chuckled in the call. “Wear those black tattered skinny jeans you own. They make your thighs look absolutely delicious. Don’t forget to top it up with that black muscle tee I got for you. If I were an omega, I would bear my neck the minute my eyes landed on you wearing those. That’s how hot you look in that outfit” 

“What? No, I look ridiculous in it” Jeno bellowed. An unwelcome image of Donghyuck bearing his neck made its way into Jeno’s mind. Jeno shook himself out of it. He is sure that he will get nightmares about it.

“Are you daft or are you fishing for more compliments?” Jeno could visualize Donghyuck rolling his eyes. 

He gritted his teeth. “That tee, I wore it once and people were staring at me weirdly all day. I vowed not to wear it again despite it being your gift” 

“Jeno” He heard Donghyuck sigh before resuming in a calmer tone, “I can’t believe I have idiots for friends!! People were staring at you because you looked incredibly sexy in that fit. Black suits your skin complexion. You have body lines which are chef’s kiss good and that outfit accentuates all the effort you put in the gym, you absolute muscle pig. Just trust me and wear it. Thank me later. Ok now bye.”

Jeno heard an abrupt click. Donghyuck had hung upon him. 

Jeno looked at his watch and cursed. It was already 6 pm. 

He hurriedly takes a shower and against his own better judgment, chooses to wear the outfit Donghyuck suggested. He stared at his reflection in the mirror as he was blow-drying his hair. He looked exhausted. His face sported the most splendid dark circles. He wondered if he should wear makeup. He suddenly flinched. He had zoned out with the blow dryer pointed at the same place on his scalp. 

Jeno thought back to his mom’s words. 

“Confidence is what you need Jeno. You are capable and handsome enough for any omega to like you. And I’m not telling you this because I’m your mother”, His mother had smiled then. Her eyes closing into tiny crescents. She had a very warm smile and it looked really good on her. He wondered if people thought the same when he smiled because he was told he shared his mother’s smize. 

He gave his reflection a half-smile and pep talked himself into thinking he looked great. He didn’t want to keep his hopes high but he couldn't help it. He started wondering if Jaemin would like him if he didn’t have an alpha and Jeno knew that was a dangerous train of thought. He shook himself out of it and entered the living room. 

Bongsik had curled up on the sofa after her meal. Jeno caressed her. He sniffled a bit and could feel his allergies acting up but he didn’t care. Jeno hardly got her to himself these days. 

Bongsik was never like this. Maybe moving did cause her a lot of stress. But he couldn’t leave her with his parents. Not when he loved her so much. Bongsik always used to make him feel wanted. Like she was delighted to be in his presence, happy to purr for him, roll on her back for him. As if to say “I’m happy when you love me” 

And in the end, that’s what he wanted. Someone to share his love with.

He smiled down at Bongsik and got up. He unlocked his phone and clicked a selfie. He sent it to Donghyuck and Jisung. Immediately his phone chimed with a string of compliments. His stomach warmed. He was grateful for his friends. They could never fail to lift him up when he was feeling particularly insecure. 

He noticed that it was already 8 pm. So he got out a box of chocolate from the fridge and made his way out the door to Jaemin’s house. 

On his way to Jaemin’s house, Jeno started panicking about the fact that he had no idea what to speak about. But then he thought back to yesterday afternoon and felt that it would be okay. After all, they spent hours talking easily yesterday. 

Jeno finally reached Jaemin’s house. It looked about the same size as his own 2 bedroom house. He crossed the front yard and knocked on Jaemin’s door. 

Jaemin opens the door almost immediately. Jeno also noticed how Jaemin’s eyes widened and mouth fell open for a few seconds before he smiled and greeted him with a wide bunny smile. 

“Hi there, you look handsome” Jaemin smirked. “I hope you are hungry. I made a lot. I wasn’t sure exactly what you liked. I went with bibimbap, you know something healthy because you look like someone who watches what they eat. But honestly, I was craving comfort food, and nothing screams happy food more than rabokki for me. So I made some of that too” 

Jaemin was wearing a yellow apron with a frilly top bodice. There were lemons patterned on it from the waist down. And it looked absolutely sinful tied around Jaemin’s pretty belly. Jeno had to stop himself from thinking of Jaemin wearing just that apron and nothing else because he really didn’t want to get a boner in front of Jaemin on his first non-date. 

Jaemin led him inside the house and Jeno can’t help but think how the house was very different from what he imagined it would be. Jaemin had a loud personality. He expected lots of yellows, reds, and pinks. Just like his hair and the rest of him. Bright sunset colors. But, as Jeno stood in the middle of the living room, all he saw was a house was painted in muted shades of browns and greens. And it was very very neat and organized. Something he felt was very uncharacteristic from how Jaemin was. 

“Your house is differently decorated from what I imagined it to be like. I expected more color”, Jeno voiced out his thoughts but immediately realized how rude it sounded. 

You fucking moron, why would you say that out loud, Jeno lamented. Jeno took a calming breath. The house smelled nice. He could make out Jaemin’s jasmine scent clearly. He tried sniffing out other scents but couldn't find any strong alpha scents. He wondered if Jaemin’s alpha wore scent blockers. He stopped sniffing when he abruptly realized how weird it was that he was sniffing out an omega’s home for potential alphas.

“Oh! That’s because Renjun is the boss among us.” Jaemin called out from the kitchen. 

Ah yes. Renjun. Jaemin’s… something. Maybe Renjun did wear scent blockers. It was fairly common these days. 

“Oh, where is he tonight?”, Jeno asked. Maybe this question might give him answers if Renjun was Jaemin’s alpha or not. Jeno wanted to hit himself because despite being here, alone, with Jaemin, all he could think about was the alpha. So he shook himself out of it and went inside the kitchen.

“Renjun, he is at work right now. He works at a cute book store-library called “look inna book” a few streets away from here.” Jaemin said, stirring something in a pot.

Is that Kimchi Jjigae I smell? Jeno wondered and suddenly felt guilty for standing while Jaemin did all the work. 

“Do you want me to help you with that?” Jeno asked. 

Jaemin turned to look at him, a ladle in one hand and the other hand on his stomach. He honestly looked so cute in that apron. 

“No, you don’t need to do anything here. Just go set the table if you want to make yourself useful that badly”, Jaemin snickered. 

Jeno started plating up the bibimbap and rabokki. He heard Jaemin hum a song under his breath, his hips swaying and Jeno’s heart warmed up. 

This feels so domestic. I wish this night never ends

Jaemin switched off the gas and got the pot of stew out. His hands are clad with cute mitts. 

“Are you ready to have your mind blown away?” Jaemin grinned at him, setting the stew on the table. He removed the apron and mitts, placed it on the chair, and sat down. 

Jeno’s eyes inadvertently flitted to Jaemin’s stomach and how snug the red sweater he wore was. His heart throbbed and he desperately prayed that he wouldn't get a boner. 

“Eat up and tell me how you like it,'' Jaemin said, digging into his rabokki. 

Jeno starts mixing his bowl of bibimbap and takes a bite. It tasted fresh and delicious. Spicy notes of gochujang mixed with the vegetables, meat and rice made it taste incredible.

“It’s really good”, Jeno said after a bite. 

“Okay. What could I have done better?”, Jaemin asked. 

Jeno thinks for a moment watching the omega slurp on the ramen, his lips puckered. “Nothing really. It’s perfect” Jeno answered.

Jaemin snorted then. 

“Such a suck-up”, Jaemin said, suddenly leaning closer to Jeno, his eyes narrowed. “Tell me the truth Jeno”

Jeno faltered, his eyes widening as he stuttered a “W-what? What d-do you mean?”

Jaemin chortled. “Must be because I’m pregnant right?”

“W-what?” Jeno froze, his face colored red with embarrassment. He can't believe he was that obvious. He wondered if he made Jaemin uncomfortable. 

Jaemin guffawed then. “Everyone is nice to me these days. Renjun hates that I’m still working. I can't step out to the grocery store without people asking me if I need help carrying stuff and you aren’t giving me bad feedback. Is it because I’m pregnant?”

Jeno let out an imaginary sigh of relief. Jaemin asked the question in a different way from what Jeno had presumed. From what Jeno was actually guilty of. 

He laughed taking another bite. “No. Really it does taste really tasty. But I prefer fried eggs over raw eggs on my bibimbap.” Jeno said after gulping down the healthy bite. 

“Well, what about you giving me the best parts from the meat you grilled yesterday. Don’t think you went unnoticed because you didn’t. I’m a hawk when it comes to noticing things.” 

Jeno’s stopped mid-bite. He didn’t know how to respond to that. He gulped down and stared at Jaemin for a second.

“Would you have preferred if I gave you the overcooked or undercooked ones”, Jeno said incredulously. 

“I didn’t say that!” Jaemin threw his head back, laughing. “I just pointed out that you were nice to me” 

“I’m nice to everyone Jaemin,” Jeno laughed back. 

It’s so easy like this. Jeno pondered, his eyes straying to the unmarked column of Jaemin’s neck. He gulped and looked away. If he were Jaemin’s alpha, he didn’t think he could resist marking it up. If not by a mating mark, by plenty of hickeys. 

Maybe Renjun was different. 

“And as for Renjun, his concerns are valid. He probably worries for you. He should be allowed that. I don’t know how it is for you but I’ve heard app developers have to slog a lot at times and it can’t be healthy to work too hard, especially when you are pregnant” Jeno retorted.

Jaemin rolled his eyes. “Yes, it is a hard job. But, then most jobs are. But I love doing this. It makes me happy. And ever since I’ve started working from home my manager makes sure I don’t get assigned too many tasks. She understands because she is an omega as well” 

Jeno didn’t want to argue with the omega, even though he frankly wanted to rile him up more because he looked cute all fired up like that. “How does it feel? To be pregnant”, Jeno asked instead. 

“It’s wonderful honestly. I feel warm and I never feel alone. I always wanted this you know. To bring a life into this world.” Jaemin paused then. His face held a smile and a faraway look in his eyes. 

Jaemin had this look in his eyes as if he was thinking something painful “It does get difficult sometimes. But Renjun helps a lot. He is an angel. He massages my back and feet every time it aches. Reminds me to have actual nutritious food and not just coffee. I don’t know how I would handle it if he wasn't there for me you know. Not everyone is willing to give a helping hand with things which are actually required you know” Jaemin smiled then. 

He envied Renjun. He really got lucky with Jaemin. But he kind of understands how he ended up with Jaemin. Renjun was absolutely gorgeous. He didn't look like a typical alpha but he was really handsome with his fox-like looks. 

But he was more than just looks. From what Jaemin said, he was a good alpha too. Helping out his partner with his pregnancy. Jeno thought it was something an alpha is responsible for. He wished he could have that privilege one day. But he was happy that Jaemin felt safe and content with Renjun by his side.

Briefly, he still wondered if Renjun was an alpha. And he wanted to hit himself for judging based on looks again. But he couldn't stop himself. 

Jeno looked back at Jaemin and he could see Jaemin think something happy because he smiled wider. “Well, I'm at the end of the second trimester. I can feel the baby move now. But on the downside, my body aches all the time and I am hungry each moment, every day” Jaemin narrated. “Not to mention, horny” 

Jeno’s mouth fell open and he spluttered. “W-what did you say?”

Jaemin’s eyes widened. “Wait, did I say that out loud? Oh my god, That is so embarrassing. I want to die. I completely blame mommy brain for this.” Jaemin sputtered with his face hidden behind his hands.

Jeno thought Jaemin looked the cutest like this. Flustered, face red, and hidden behind his large hands. He wishes he could bring out this reaction from him by his words but he wasn’t good with them. Jeno gathered courage enough to slowly remove Jaemin’s hands from his face. 

Jaemin had his eyes closed. His thick lashes created a pretty shadow under his eyes. He was biting his lips and he looked like the cutest bunny.

“It’s okay,” Jeno laughed. “It's completely fine. I was just shocked. It's fine, seriously. Lets just put it behind us” 

Jaemin still had a pretty blush as he stared into Jeno’s eyes. Jeno’s eyes flitted to Jaemin’s lips. He wished he could lean in, close the distance and kiss Jaemin breathless. Jeno’s heart was screaming at him to close the distance but his brain told him to not do it. He suddenly felt Jaemin leaning in. It was like time had stopped. 

Jaemin abruptly pulled away and put a distance between them because the moment was broken by a smooth voice. 

“What’s going on here?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apron which Jaemin is wearing: [lemon apron  
>  ](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/444097213255043864/)Jeno's outfit: [[x]](https://44.media.tumblr.com/dc29c57e1e524ee4018ca3580605bd12/tumblr_pn11qvkD3j1qhfbpw_400.gif)  
>   
> I hope you all liked this chapter. Please leave kudos and comments. They fuel my life force. :D


	4. Home Keys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You are doing a great job with Jaemin you know. Most alphas wouldn’t do what you are doing now” Jeno gulped nervously hoping he didn’t overstep. 
> 
> “I know. Most alphas, if not all are shitty anyway.” Renjun muttered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading, commenting and giving kudos for this fic. I'm thankful.  
> Also, I noticed recently that the formatting which I did for the earlier chapters has not shown up on ao3. So I should edit it again.

“R-renjun, y-you’re here early. I thought you’d come back after midnight”, Jaemin stammered out. He had gotten up, one of his hands on the table, the other on his stomach. He stood awkwardly looking at the newcomer.

Jeno’s attention snapped from Jaemin to the owner of the new voice. The first thing he noticed was how small he was. His dark eyes were glaring daggers at Jeno and Jeno froze. 

Jaemin got up and crossed the hall. He held Renjun’s face in his hands, eyes lit with concern.

“Why do you smell like an alpha? Did something happen? You seem angry. What’s wrong?”

Renjun slowly diverted his attention from Jeno and looked Jaemin in the eyes. 

“Ran into a group of asshole alphas who had their fun teasing ‘the little beta’. But I’m okay now. I’m home”, Renjun smiled at Jaemin. 

Jeno’s eyes widened. 

_He is a beta. I had overlooked that possibility._

Renjun suddenly looked back at Jeno. “Forget it. Who is this? Why is he here?”, Renjun gritted out. His eyes were fired up with hatred as he looked back at Jeno. 

Jeno objectively knew he did nothing wrong and in the off chance that this ended in a physical brawl, Jeno knew he could easily take down Renjun. But Renjun’s eyes held so much determination and anger that he couldnt help but feel threatened. His hackles were raised. 

“Renjun, calm down sugar. This is Jeno, the alpha who owns the cat. I told you about him yesterday”, Jeno could hear Jaemin whisper. He was hugging Renjun, releasing his omega pheromones to get him to calm down. It also helped Jeno calm down significantly. 

However, Jeno suddenly felt like he was intruding on a private moment. From the back, Jaemin towered over Renjun. His chin rested on Renjun’s head as he whispered sweet nothings and stroked Renjun’s back to get him to calm down. 

It might have been just a few seconds but Jeno felt like an eternity passed when Renjun finally cooled off enough for Jaemin to let him go. Jaemin looked back at Jeno and grimaced. 

“Sorry, Jeno. But I need to cut this dinner short.”, Jaemin said, his voice filled with regret. 

Jeno got up and shot him a smile. He hoped it looked reassuring.

“No, no it’s ok. You don’t need to apologize. It’s completely okay. Renjun needs you. I’m just gonna leave”, Jeno got up.

_Was Renjun not aware of this plan?_ Jeno wondered. He hoped Jaemin doesn’t get into trouble for this. 

“Um.. ok... Yes. Bye, Jaemin. Take care”, His eyes slid carefully to Renjun. He was worried about Jaemin. He knew that betas weren’t as strong as Alphas but they could easily overpower omegas. He gulped and looked back at Jaemin “if you need anything…”

_Is it okay for me to offer Jaemin help? But how can I help him? What should I do? Will it be too forward of me to offer help in case something wrong does happen? What if Renjun gets angrier?_ Jeno got a lot of doubts, so he remained silent. He didn’t really know what to do at this point. The tension in the air was so thick it could be cut with a knife. 

Renjun suddenly snorted. 

Jeno’s eyes jumped to Jaemin. He felt awkward.

Jaemin shot a disapproving glare at Renjun and Jeno’s fears for Jaemin increased.

“Don’t be mean, Renjun. Get inside. I’ll show Jeno to the door. Come on Jeno”, Jaemin beckoned Jeno and Jeno walked up to him. 

“No no. It’s okay. It was nice meeting you Renjun”, Jeno smiled hoping it looked non-threatening. He didn’t want Jaemin to get into more trouble. 

Renjun snickered then. “‘Nice meeting you’ he says” 

“Go inside Renjun, seriously.” Jaemin scowled at Renjun. “Let’s go Jeno”

Jaemin lead Jeno to the door. Once outside on the porch, Jaemin sighed. “I’m sorry he is like that. Don’t take it personally. He is angrier at the world than at you particularly. He’s just had bad experiences with alphas particularly”

Jeno shook his head. “No no. It’s completely understandable. I’m not offended don’t worry. You just go and console him. He must need you now. I’ll leave.” 

Jeno shot him another smile. “Bye, Jaemin”, he whispered before turning to leave. 

“Wait!” Jaemin stopped him by grabbing his shirt. 

Jeno looked at Jaemin expectantly, calmly waiting. 

Jaemin looked nervous. “Can I get your number?”, He whispered something lowly, looking down at his shoes. 

Jeno thought he looked cute, flustered, and shy like this. It was different from Jaemin’s usual loud self but still cute. But Jeno now knew that he was just seeing things he wanted to see. There was no way Jaemin was the kind of shy he wanted him to be. The kind of shy an omega is around an alpha they like. Because Jaemin already had Renjun. 

Jeno smiled at Jaemin and mumbled a low “yes” 

He pulled out his phone and gave it to Jaemin. “Punch in your number. I’ll send you a text”

Jaemin took the phone from Jeno, their hands brushing in the process. Jeno felt static run through him. Jaemin typed in his number and gave the phone back to Jeno. 

“Bye Jeno. Thanks for the evening. I had fun. Don’t hesitate to drop by again.” Jaemin said quietly. 

“Yeah. Bye Jaemin.”Jeno whispered back.

He saw Jaemin turn back and go inside and turned himself to leave. On his way back home, his head was filled with thoughts.

Betas were rarer than alphas and omegas who made up the majority of the population. Betas usually mated each other more out of convenience than out of choice. Some Alphas did end up mating betas but Beta-omega pairs were almost unheard of owing to the fact that omegas were picky with their partners and usually ended choosing alphas.

Betas couldnt satisfy a lot of omegas innate needs. It was more difficult to conceive pups with betas than with alphas and heats were a lot more difficult and painful to handle because betas didn’t have the knots needed to break an omegas heat. 

But he kind of understood how Jaemin might have ended up choosing Renjun. Renjun was handsome, hardworking, and caring. Despite his small stature, he seemed to have enough guts in him to stand up to alphas. He owned his own book store and seemed to make Jaemin really happy. He was willing to take care of his omega, massage his feet and back when it ached during a tiring pregnancy. He knows for a fact that most alphas wouldn’t bother. 

Jaemin was an unconventional omega so Jeno wasn’t shocked that he chose a beta over an alpha. Especially someone like Renjun. 

Jeno wished it didn’t hurt, but it did. He tried convincing himself that Jaemin was happy and that was all that mattered but he couldn’t help but feel sad for himself. He wanted what they had. He even gathered his courage this time. He wanted to woo someone. He wanted to sweep someone off their feet. And he desperately wanted it to be Jaemin. But it seemed like he wanted something he couldn’t have. 

Jeno reached his porch. He saw Bongsik, open her eyes from where she was curled in the porch chair. Jeno smiled at her. She looked so cute and fuzzy like this. Jeno wished he could run his hands through her fur and ruffle her head but he knew that was a bad idea. He didn’t want to trigger his allergies. 

He rummaged his pockets for his keys. He couldn’t find them. He patted himself down and rummaged his pockets once more. He started panicking wondering if he left them at Jaemin’s house. He couldnt go back now could he? He ran through the streets, stopping and checking to see if he can find his keys somewhere. He didn’t find them even after searching for a good fifteen minutes. 

He was sweating, frustrated at himself for losing his keys. He decided to text Jaemin instead of going back. He reached his pocket and picked out his phone. He goes to the contacts and searches for Jaemin’s name but he couldnt find it. 

Jeno wondered if Jaemin played some cruel prank on him by tricking him into thinking he could have a friendship with him. Jeno shook that thought away. There was no way Jaemin was like that. 

So he scrolled through the contacts calmly searching for a contact he didn’t recognize. He finally found a new contact. 

“Nana 💚” It said. Jeno inadvertently felt butterflies swarming his stomach. Jeno willed them away and opens up the messaging app to text Jaemin about his keys. 

**Jenojam**  
_10:42pm_  
I know its late. But I think I left my keys at your place.  
I searched the streets for it.  
But I couldnt find it.  
This is Jeno btw. 

Jeno really hoped Jaemin saw the message because he didn’t want to go back to Jaemin’s place now because he knew Renjun and Jaemin were probably talking to each other or sleeping. It seemed like Renjun worked till late hours. And any time they got with each other was precious. But even after 30 minutes, Jaemin had not answered. 

Dejected Jeno gets up from the chair on his porch and made his way to Jaemin’s house. 

I really hope they aren’t asleep Jeno prayed. 

He reached Jaemin’s house and his eyes lit up to see that some of the lights were still switched on in Jaemin’s house. He crossed the front yard and reached the door. He knocked on it twice and waited. 

The door swung open revealing a freshly showered, pajama-clad Renjun. Renjun’s expressions shifted from one of nonchalance to annoyance the second he noticed that it was Jeno at the door. 

“What do you want?” Renjun muttered. 

Jeno grimaced and looked down at his shoes. “I think I forgot my keys here?”

“You think?” Renjun rolled his eyes as he opened the door wider to let Jeno in. “Come in. I’ll ask Jaemin if he has seen it” 

“Jaemin. Jeno is here again.” Renjun yelled for Jaemin. 

Jaemin came out of the bedroom and he was in his PJs too. A cute pale pink one with cherry colored heart pins. He looked adorable. 

“Jeno. What are you doing here? Is something wrong?” Jaemin asked. 

“Jeno here thinks he might have forgotten his keys here”, Renjun answered for him in a mocking tone. 

Jaemin ignored him and frowned. “Here? Do you have any idea where you might have kept them?”

“Not really. I don’t remember taking them out. I might have taken them out in your kitchen but I’m not sure if I put them back in or not” 

_Then again, I don’t think I have the wits to remember things with Jaemin in front of me_ Jeno thought as he felt the heat rising his cheeks. 

“Okay. I just cleaned the dining table and kitchen and the keys were definitely not there. Did you check the streets?” Jaemin asked, his voice filled with concern. 

“Yes, I did.” Jeno was feeling frustrated and he wanted to pull his hair out. 

“Okay. let’s just search it together once more. We might be able to find it together.” Renjun piped in. 

Jeno flinched at the unexpected statement. He couldnt believe Renjun would help Jeno. 

Renjun opened the door and goes out and beckoned Jeno to follow him. Jaemin also started to come with him. Renjun shot him a stern look. 

“Yeah. No. I don’t think so. Go back and sleep Jaemin.” Renjun declared. 

“What! Please! You know I can’t sleep without you, right? What’s the use of going back inside when I can’t sleep without you anyways?” Jaemin whined cutely. 

Jeno felt his stomach swoop once more looking at Jaemin. He looked at Renjun to see if he had the same reaction. But Renjun just rolled his eyes. But he did have a fond look on his face.

“Don’t argue Jaem. You need to rest and walking around too much isn’t good for you. Please just listen to me. I’ll be back soon” 

Jaemin agreed dejectedly and closed the door. Jeno watched the interaction and craved for it. 

Renjun started down the stairs and switched on the flashlight of his phone. Jeno did the same. Together they started searching the small path from Jaemin’s house to Jeno’s home. They did it diligently but, unfortunately, to no avail. 

It was nearing midnight and the two of them ended up on Jeno’s porch dejected. 

“You should get back to Jaemin.” Jeno sighed. 

“And what about you? Will you sleep on the porch?” Renjun teased as Jeno whined. 

“Wow! you are such a huge baby.” Renjun said. 

He spotted Bongsik on the porch chair and chuckled at her. 

“Look at this devil sleep. She has no cares in the world. I have caught her stealing from our kitchen so many times I’ve lost count.” Renjun narrated. “But she has this charm to her you know. It’s impossible to get angry at her.” He said looking at Bongsik with a fond look in his eyes. 

Jeno was happy that the world had not completely jaded Renjun. He was aware of how badly mistreated betas were. Some musty alphas wanted to make a beta submit to them for the fun of it and bullied them into doing it. Betas were the less appealing choice for every alpha and omega inherently. It must have been especially hard for Renjun to live as a beta especially because since his stature and looks could win most omegas looks in a competition. He just lacked the sweet flowery or fruity scent which most omegas had. 

Renjun was stroking Bongsik and Bongsik cracked her eyes open lazily to look up at Renjun. She started purring at the excellent petting which Renjun was giving her and Jeno chuckled. 

“Look at her enjoying while I suffer here” 

“Well, it’s not like she needs to care. She is charming enough to make a living out of herself. Just come to terms with the fact that you need the cat more than she needs you Jeno.” Renjun sneered. 

“I already know that Renjun. You don’t have to remind me.” Jeno muttered, rolling his eyes.

Jeno thought that the one thing good which came out of losing his keys was that he and Renjun had reached some sort of peaceful state in their relationship. Renjun still made snarky comments. But at this point, Jeno felt like that was his personality trait.

Renjun was still stroking Bongsik when Bongsik decided to wake up for a quick stretch. 

“Wait is that your key I see?” Renjun said suddenly. He picked up Bongsik from the chair and there it was. Lying on the chair, inconspicuously, where Bongsik was curled a few seconds back. 

Jeno laughed incredulously. He cant believe his cat stole his keys and he ended up searching for them with his neighbors for almost an hour. 

“I can’t believe it was with her,” Renjun said voicing out Jeno’s thoughts and laughed. 

Looking at his laugh, Jeno also started laughing and soon both of them were doubling with laughter. 

After a few minutes, they force themselves to stop and look at each other. 

“It’s late. We should sleep. It’s still a weekday tomorrow and we have work” Renjun said. 

Jeno smiled and he hoped it didn’t look painful. “Yes. Thank you so much for your help. Let me drop you back to your home” 

Renjun snorted. “It’s just a minute away from here Jeno. I think I can handle it” 

Jeno smiled. “I know you are perfectly capable of going back home safely. But I just want to banter a little more? Can you blame me?”

Renjun smirked then. He strangely reminded him of Donghyuck. “Oooooh, are you addicted to my charms already Jeno?”

“Renjun please, let me just drop you both home.”

“Okay, Jeno. Whatever gets me to my bed earlier.” Renjun quipped. 

While walking back to Renjun’s house, Jeno gathered his courage to say something he needed to. 

“You are doing a great job with Jaemin you know. Most alphas wouldn’t do what you are doing now” Jeno gulped nervously hoping he didn’t overstep. 

“I know. Most alphas, if not all are shitty anyway.” Renjun muttered.

This was followed by a silent moment but it wasn’t uncomfortable. 

“I know you like him Jeno, you don’t have to pretend,” Renjun said suddenly. 

Jeno’s eyes widened and he didn’t know what to say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The pajamas which Jaemin and Renjun were wearing are the same they were wearing in the "under the blanket" series uploaded on youtube.  
> If anyone is confused about how ABO works in this fic, please leave a comment. I hope you enjoy this chapter.


	5. Fluffy Beds and Warm Rooms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Isn’t it sad that I need to belong to an alpha for other alphas to stop harassing me?" Renjun was looking at Jeno now as if waiting for him to say something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the kudos and comments! I sound like a broken recorder but I truly appreciate each and every one of you. 
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING: descriptions of Renjun being harassed. It's not described in length but I still thought of putting a warning. If you want to skip it the paragraph starts with "Renjun had stopped for a moment then sighing"

Jeno was surprised that Renjun read through him. They only met each other a few hours ago. Jeno felt like he is on the edge of something dangerous. With how Renjun glared at him a few hours ago, he knew that this might lead to a physical squabble. 

Jeno thought of disagreeing with Renjun initially, but with how confident Renjun sounded Jeno knew it would be a waste of breath. So instead he decided that agreeing is the best.  
  
“Yes. I do. But it’s physically impossible to not like someone like Jaemin”, Jeno gulped observing Renjun. But Renjun’s sight was not even directed at him. Renjun simply looked forward, hands folded in front of him. It was difficult to deduce what Renjun was feeling about all this.  
  
Surely, he wasn’t happy about an alpha being interested in his omega. But how angry was he? 

“But you don’t have anything to worry about,” Jeno concluded. 

Renjun gazed back at Jeno then, a long silence following the motion. 

“And why do you feel like I don’t have anything to worry about Jeno?” 

“Well, lots of reasons,” Jeno said frustrated. “Mainly because I am way too insecure to pursue someone like Jaemin. I get tongue-tied while talking to omegas. Why do you think I’m still unmated Renjun? I’m almost 27. Forget a mate, outside of heat partners from the organization, I haven’t had a single omega in my life. Not even as friends.” 

Renjun looked astounded. “That was a lot to unpack”, he said quietly. 

Jeno felt heat rising to his face. He hoped the cold February night hid his embarrassment. 

“Yes. But I needed you to understand that you don’t have anything to worry about. But you can’t blame me for liking Jaemin. It’s an unachievable expectation for anyone to expect someone like me to not like Jaemin” Jeno shot back. 

Renjun let out a short breath.

“I do agree with you. Jaemin is like that you know. He attracts people’s attention wherever he goes. He is loud. And hyperactive” Renjun snickered. He had a fond look in his eyes. “I used to chalk it up to his inhuman coffee consumption. You know he used to drink 6 venti sized cups of iced coffee with four, a whole four shots of espresso” 

“Four shots? That sounds unreal!”Jeno was quite frankly awestruck at someone, especially someone like Jaemin, willingly drinking something so atrocious.

“I know. But he used to drink it every day, sometimes even more than 6 cups. But now he doesn’t after his pregnancy. But I have discovered that Jaemin is Jaemin with or without the coffee” Renjun laughed.  
  
Jeno laughed with him. He sort of felt guilty for assuming that Renjun would throw hands at him now. Renjun was being nothing but nice to him. 

Renjun was smiling now. “He was always like that you know. Full of love. He would make everyone fall in love with him. I’ve seen omegas getting moon-eyed at him. Then what power do alphas and betas like you and me have?” He said seriously. 

“Yeah. I lost the second I met him. You know he went on a nervous rambling about how bad his cravings were when we met. Has he told you that?” Jeno snorted, reminiscing the event. “But I’ll not make moves towards him. You don’t have to worry” Jeno repeated.

“Yes. He had. And that’s the third time you told me Jeno.” He gazed up at Jeno. “But Jaemin knows what he is doing. And I trust him. I can’t stop him from befriending alphas. But know that the minute something goes wrong, the minute I know you are taking advantage of Jaemin’s niceness, I won’t hesitate to step in”

Renjun was not smiling now. Jeno wanted to say something. But he knew that it was the wrong time. Renjun looked like he wanted to continue talking so he remained silent. Renjun didn’t look upset or angry. He just regarded Jeno with a straight face.  
  
“You’re different,” Renjun said suddenly.

Jeno felt awkward. He didn’t know what Renjun meant by it. 

“You know I hate your kind” Renjun hissed in silence. 

“I get harassed every day by alphas. My small stature makes it worse. I look like an omega but I’m not. They all want my body but never me. So they tease me, harass me. Tell me that I should be thankful that they are paying ‘someone like me’ attention in the first place.” Renjun was trembling and Jeno knew that cold had nothing to do with it.

They stood facing each other in front of Renjun and Jaemin’s gate. 

“All the alphas I have met were scumbags and I wish my concern ended there. I wish it ended with me.” Renjun was looking at Jeno and his eyes were red with anger and frustration. 

“All the alphas in Jaemin’s life were also equally terrible. The last alpha in his life left a lasting impression though. He had turned Jaemin, sweet sweet Jaemin think he was not worth being loved. He used to make Jaemin feel bad for how built he was. He fed lies about how the only good thing about Jaemin was his face. He made him feel lowly for how gravelly Jaemin’s voice was. Jaemin was just an empty shell of himself by the end of it. I’m just thankful that we have each other now.” Renjun was quaking with rage by then.  
  
Jeno didn’t know if it was a good time to speak. He felt like speaking now would just end up working against his favor.   
  
Renjun snorted. “You are different Jeno. Any alpha would have had his hands around my throat by now. But it’s difficult for me to trust alphas because of how many bad impressions we’ve had. Jaemin is very naive. And I don’t want him to change. That’s what made me fall for him in the first place you know. That unending positivity of his.”  
  
Renjun had stopped for a moment then sighing. “I wish I could treat you differently. Jaemin really likes you. But I can’t. Just today I was harassed by a group of alphas, who told me all those terrible things I mentioned before. They held my hands, kissed my neck, rendered me motionless. They felt me up despite me begging them not to. And it was terrible.” Renjun gulped, blinking as if to stop himself from crying. 

“It was terrible to be helpless under an alpha’s command. But you know what’s sad. I got out of the situation only because another alpha decided to feel pity for me. I got out of the situation only because a stranger, an alpha told them off for harassing his beta. Isn’t it sad that I need to belong to an alpha for other alphas to stop harassing me?” Renjun was looking at Jeno now as if waiting for him to say something.  
  
Jeno nibbled on his lips. “I’m sorry that you had to go through that. I won’t tell you now that not all alphas are like that. I know that there are enough scumbags for this to be a valid concern. I’m sorry that most alphas think they are superior to other sub genders. When we aren’t. I can’t change them. But what I can do is tell you that I am not like that. You don’t have to believe me. But I need you to know that I will never go after your mate. Despite how I feel about him.” 

Jeno felt like he had run a marathon. 

Renjun blinked at him then. “My m-mate?”  
  
Jeno was exhausted of defending himself. “Yes. Despite you believing that all alphas are the same, I know my boundaries. I will not go after Jaemin, when I know he is mated”

Renjun looked like he wanted to kill him. He blinked at him some more.  
  
“I don’t think I’ve met a bigger idiot in my life than you” Renjun declared.  
  
“So be it” Jeno shot back. “But I will not go after Jaemin” 

“I’ll hold you on to that Jeno.” Renjun snorted. “I’m going back in now. You can go back now. I hope you have your keys with you now. It’s almost 1 am and I do not want to be disturbed again tonight” 

Jeno rummaged his pocket and held out his keys. “I do. I’m not that big of an idiot. Plus I didn’t lose them in the first place. My cat took it from your kitchen table. I’m sure of it”

Renjun rolled his eyes, turning his back at Jeno. “Whatever makes you sleep at night idiot”

Jeno was annoyed at being shot down like that. He sighed and turned back to get himself home. By the time, Jeno gets back home, he was exhausted. He fell onto his bed only to be scratched violently by Bongsik. 

Bongsik had crawled and hidden on the covers and Jeno had accidentally squished her. She glared at Jeno as if he had killed her firstborn. Which got Jeno into thinking that Bongsik never actually had kids. Jeno wondered if she was neutered. He didn’t do it but maybe Bongsik wasn’t a stray initially. Maybe she was someone’s pet before she was abandoned. He wondered how someone could even think of deserting a cutie like Bongsik. 

Bongsik had curled back into the covers in the center of Jeno’s bed. She looked too cute to be woken up. And even if Jeno found the will to remove Bongsik from the bed, he didn’t think he could survive another claw fight with her. He was already sniffling. Which meant sleeping with her was also not an option. 

Jeno sighed and walked ovr to his closet and got a spare comforter and pillow. He pondered over getting a spare bed too. It made sense with how often he was sleeping on the hall rug because of Bongsik these days. He dragged himself to the hall and looked at the sofa. Maybe he should sleep on the couch today. It was a cold night after all.  
  
So he hauled himself on the couch and got his cellphone out to set an alarm. He didn’t want to sleep through the morning and he knew that he will end up doing just that because of how drained he felt. 

He noticed a text by Jaemin then and his heart inadvertently started beating faster. He cursed himself. He had just convinced Renjun about how he won’t go after Jaemin but his stupid heart had not gotten the memo. 

**Nana** **💚**  
_1:18 am_

I heard you finally found your keys 😂  
Bongsik is truly one of a kind, isn’t she?😹  
Anyways, Good night Jeno-ya.🌃🌠 

Jeno smiled at the text. He thought a lot for a witty reply but he couldn’t think of one. He was worn out. And he didn’t wanna accidentally wake Jaemin up. So he started typing a simple reply. 

**Jenojam**  
_1:29 am  
_

Good night Jaemin. 

  
The reply came almost immediately. A stream of replies in fact. Each getting more and more hyperactive. He wondered if Renjun was asleep. He knew Renjun trusted Jaemin. But he didn’t want Renjun to get worried. 

**Nana** **💚**  
_1:29 am_

Wow so clipped!! Jeno ya  
You hurt me 💔  
What’s with the bland reply  
Don’t you want to have a conversation with me  
Am I boring you 😢  
“Good night Jaemin.”  
He says  
Also what’s with your nickname? 🤔  
Jenojam  
Like strawberry jam?   
You know what I absolutely hate  
Strawberry flavored things  
Dont get me wrong 😯  
The fruit? Heavenly! 🤩  
But the flavor? Ew 🤮

Jeno laughed at the stream of thought which lead to this conversation. Jaemin made it so easy to talk to him. He began typing but he was slow with his hands. He never really texted people other than Donghyuck and Jisung and that too rarely. Mostly he just called them back. So this was new. 

**Jenojam  
** _1:32 am_

Haha no. I didn’t want to disturb you or wake you and Renjun up.  
Jenojam… It’s a nickname given by my friends.  
I am no fun so.  
As for strawberry flavor…  
It’s like that because strawberry has this unique complex aroma  
And scientists don’t know what causes it  
That’s why all strawberry flavors which exist tastes weird  
Because they are unable to replicate the smell

This was probably the longest text he has ever sent to someone.  
  
**Nana** **💚  
**_1:32 am_

Damn  
Why tho 😕  
You are plenty fun to me Jeno ya 😊  
I’m offended on your behalf 👊  
Also, you seem to have an  
Unnatural amount of  
Knowledge about strawberries  
Jeno ya  
...  
Do you by any chance  
Love that god awful flavoring? 😨

Jeno thought of refuting Jaemin. Telling him that it was fine and that he was okay being the no jam of his tiny friend’s circle. But he is happy that Jaemin thinks that he is plenty of fun.

**Jenojam  
** _1:34 am_

Thank you Jaemin  
Also, I know about the strawberries thing  
Because it’s my very loud, can’t shut up best friend’s favorite fruit

**Nana** **💚  
**_1:34 am_

Oh!!  
Is it so??? 😮  
On an unrelated note  
Renjun smells like strawberries  
It’s very calming you know 😌

It was a well-known fact that a beta’s scent was known only to their closest people. Most often, but not only by their mates. Jeno couldn’t smell the strawberry scent that Jaemin described. 

But he imagined Renjun to be a calming person to Jaemin. He imagined Jaemin clinging to Renjun despite his bigger form. He imagined Jaemin cuddling Renjun on the bed, nosing at Renjun’s neck to get more of his comforting scent.  
  
And Jeno yearned. Yearned to have someone do it to him. To do that with someone. He was so touch starved and he hated it. He terribly missed home and right now at the dead of the night, he was stinking up the place by being a big baby.  
  
**Nana** **💚  
**_1:36 am_

Okay. I’m gonna head to sleep now.  
Renjun is glaring at me as I type 😑  
But I understand  
He has to go out for work  
Early morning  
I do not understand why he is like this  
He owns the place  
He can afford to skip a day  
Or go late   
But no  
He wont do that 🙄  
But it’s okay  
Anyways  
Im rambling  
Good night Jeno ya 🌠 🌠 🌠 

  
Jeno smiled at the texts. Jaemin was truly the cutest and Jeno was screwed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can I just say Renjun is probably the only well thought out character so far? This entire fic was just word vomit. But I enjoyed thinking for once and writing his character. And I hope you enjoyed reading it too. Leave me comments about what you liked in this chapter. And as always, Thank you for reading ^^


	6. Dead Doves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You liked one of my Instagram posts,” Jaemin explained with an evil smile. “And unfortunately for you, It was an old one”
> 
> Now, Jeno was never good at maintaining his composure. He was visibly freaking out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for disappearing for a week. I changed companies and I got really busy with work.  
> But thank you for still reading this fic and leaving kudos and comments.  
> This chapter did take a bit longer and I'm not completely happy with it but I still thought of posting it.  
> It's not beta read as usual. :D

The strange thing about getting sick was that Jeno, personally, used to like some of its consequences. For one he could take off from work without feeling like he is wasting a day. He also loved the fact that he got absolutely spoiled by his mom. He enjoyed the attention, the light porridge, and the comforting caresses on his back while he slept.  
  
But that was not the case this time. As his alarm blared, Jeno woke up feeling absolutely shitty. Sometime during the night, he must have shifted from the sofa to the rug. He was sprawled on the rug, the comforter forgotten on the sofa and as he got up he felt faint. His entire body ached. He knew he was running a fever and he had a splitting headache which got worse every time he sneezed, which at that point was every 10 seconds. He wondered if he caught a bug or if it was the result of staying out in the cold so late and sleeping on the rug without a comforter. 

He walked groggily to get his phone from his room so he could call his mom. He waited for her to pick up but ended up disappointed when she didn’t pick up. He sighed and shot her a text.

**Jenojam** **  
** Eomma, I’m sick  
Come take care of me

He noticed that Bongsik wasn’t sleeping on his bed anymore. In fact, he couldn’t see her in the entire house which meant she must have gone out, adventuring as Jeno liked to put it. He opened Jaemin’s texts from last night and smiled dreamily at them for a moment. 

Jeno let his thoughts wander. Maybe he should shoot a text to Jaemin about being sick. Maybe Jaemin would agree to come and take care of him. That would be a dream come true. He daydreamed about Jaemin in that cute yellow apron of his, fretting over Jeno and complaining about how careless Jeno was.

But sooner than he wished to he pulled himself away from the dream. He couldn’t text Jaemin. Jaemin was Renjun’s mate. Renjun would definitely not like his mate taking care of alphas. In fact, Renjun probably waited every day for Jaemin to finish making everyone fall in love with him and come home.

So Jeno sighed and opened his tiny group chat with Jisung and Donghyuck.  
  


**Dumb, dumber, dumbest** **  
** **  
  
**

**Jenojam**

I feel like dying

**Mochisung**  
Isn’t that how you feel every day?

**Full Sun** **  
** Aren’t we all? 

**Jenojam**

Noooo I’m sick.  
That’s why I feel like dying  
I am missing my mom’s scorched rice porridge  
Come take care of me  
Please

  
  


**Full Sun**  
Damn, son okay!  
I’m in the neighborhood anyways  
Wait for a while  
I’ll come 

  
  


**Jenojam**

Why are you in the neighborhood?  
Donghyuck??  
???

Donghyuck lived on the opposite side of the town. It was weird that he was in Jeno’s neighborhood. Jeno wondered if he was shooting another vlog. This side of the town was more green and aesthetic. He set his phone aside and cuddled into the sheets on his bed. He should probably get up and have breakfast so he could take medicines. But he felt his eyes drooping.  
  
The next time he opened his eyes was to the blaring of his doorbell. He looked at the time on his phone and it was 8:47 am. Only about half an hour had passed. But he felt like he had slept for ages. He groggily woke up and padded through the hall to get the door.  
  
“Wake up and get the door princess”, Donghyuck bellowed from the other side

“Coming, coming” Jeno startled at how croaky his voice sounded.  
  
He opened the door and Donghyuck held out a cover that looked like takeout. Jeno breathed a sigh of relief and gratitude.  
  
“Thank god you are here. And you got takeout with you. You’re a lifesaver honestly” Jeno mumbled weakly. 

“Of course, what would you do without me” Donghyuck smiled widely.  
  
“Probably suffer alone”  
  
Donghyuck settled on the chair next to his dining table and pulled out the takeout container.  
  
“I’m guessing you haven’t brushed. So do that first. I’ll set up the table. I got jook and I’m sure it won’t be as tasty as your mom’s but it smells great”  
  
Jeno did as he asked and came back and settled down on another chair. Donghyuck had already plated a bowl full of jook. There was a steaming cup placed next to it which Jeno soon found to be baesuk. He sighed gratefully at Donghyuck.  
  
Donghyuck laughed. “I know. You’re welcome”

Jeno slowly ate spoon fulls of jook even and took careful sips of baesuk.  
  
“So how’s it going with your bae?”  
  
“He is mated. It’s confirmed”  
  
“Oh. well. It’s okay. There’s plenty more fish in the sea”

“Yeah but none are Jaemin. Jaemin is very understanding you know. He doesnt judge me for being a weak alpha - “ 

“You arent a weak alpha, Jeno” Donghyuck interjected.  
  
“Yes, I am. Not that I stood a chance with Jaemin if he were single. But at least now I can delude myself into thinking that he would have liked me if he were unmated”

Donghyuck sighed. He looked tired and sort of distant.  
  
“What’s wrong?” Jeno asked. 

“Hmmm?” Donghyuck looked back quizzingly.  
  
“You seem distant.”  
  
“What? No, I’m not. You must be seeing things.” Donghyuck laughed but it sounded fake. 

“No. You definitely seem down. You smile and all but you dont seem your 100%. So… you gonna tell me what’s wrong?” Jeno pressed.  
“Nothing is wrong Jeno” Donghyuck snapped back. 

Jeno knew when he was being shot down so he opted to change the topic. 

“Okay. So what were you doing in the neighborhood? Another vlog or something?” Jeno questioned.

Donghyuck’s eyes lit up suddenly as he started narrating with passion. 

“Or something. I want to shoot a video of a nearby bookstore. The concept is pretty unique. It’s a cafe and a bookstore and a library. It’s a lot of things. They lend you books for very low prices. The store also has a reading area and you can pretty much sit anywhere on the floor too cuz they let you read there as well. They also have a small cafe. It’s not much but they sell cheap coffee there. And the cherry on top is it’s very quaint and aesthetic. It’s called look in a book ”

“Wait? Look in a book?? That’s Jaemin’s mate’s store!” Jeno spoke out. 

Donghyuck halted suddenly. His eyebrows furrowed. “Wait I dont think the owner is mated?” Donghyuck said.  
  
“The owner is a beta right? A very pretty honey blonde beta who could give omegas a run for their money?”

“Yes. That’s him. That’s Renjun” Donghyuck spoke slowly.

“Yeah well, That’s him. Jaemin’s mate”  
  
“Jaemin is mated with a beta?”

Donghyuck had a very surprised look on his face and Jeno couldnt blame him. It was rare after all.  
  
“Yes. Jaemin can smell him too. That’s how I know! And Renjun confirmed it too”

Donghyuck’s face looked stricken.  
  
“What happened? Why do you look like that?” 

Donghyuck suddenly focused back on Jeno.

“Nothing. I’m sorry it turned out that way Jeno” Donghyuck smiled at him but it looked distant. 

“It’s ok. I’m fine. Plus they are very happy with each other. Renjun can’t stop talking about Jaemin and honestly, they are made for each other. I think it’s time the world became more accepting of relationships other than just alpha-omega, alpha-beta and beta-beta pairs.”. Jeno declared. 

“I’m glad you think so. I agree with you too.” Donghyuck looked at Jeno and smiled. This one looked genuine.  
  
Donghyuck suddenly got up.  
  
“Okay. I’ll go now. Make sure to take your medicines.”  
  
“What? So soon??” Jeno whined.  
  
Donghyuck was already out the door. “Jeno. Babe. I know you love me. But I have places to be” he winked and turned around and left just as quickly as he came. 

Jeno got up to fetch medicines and water to gulp it down. Donghyuck really seemed out of it which was very uncharacteristic of Donghyuck. He placed the tablet on is tongue and almost gagged at the bitter taste. He quickly forced it down by gulping copious amounts of water. 

He went back to his room and promptly screamed. 

A dove. A dead one. Just by his window. Bongsik was prodding and playing with it and Jeno wanted to cry. He did not want to deal with this right now.  
  
“Bongsik! Why?” Jeno whined.  
  
He quickly got a towel out of his closet and walked over to Bongsik. Bongsik didn’t seem to pay him any attention. He tried to separate Bongsik from the dead dove but it hissed angrily and scratch at Jeno. After several unsuccessful attempts, Jeno felt frustrated. He sat on the floor, by the window and growled angrily at Bongsik. Bongsik then dropped the rat and jumped out the window, not before hissing at him. 

Jeno picked the dove with the towel and went out. He picked the shovel out and started digging in his front yard. 

He felt like crying. He was sick. Tired to the bone. It was snowing lightly and he was digging his front yard while chanting obscenities like a mantra. And all this while he felt his head split in half.  
  
Once he deemed he hole big enough for the dove, he slowly placed the dove in it and started covering it up.   
  
Halfway through covering the dove’s grave, he heard the sound of his gate opening. 

He saw Jaemin standing there holding a saucepan in a loose striped snoopy sweater, a cute red plaid hat, and a pair of denim shorts. Denim shorts in winter. While being pregnant.  
  
Jaemin stared at Jeno for a long minute.

“Are you okay? What are you doing there?” He asked.  
  
Jeno flushed.  
  
“Bongsik killed a bird,” Jeno mumbled under his breath.  
  
“Damn, why do you sound like that?” Jaemin laughed as he approached Jeno.  
  
“Don’t laugh. I’m sick” Jeno grumbled back.  
  
Jaemin’s eyebrows knotted in worry then.  
  
“Oh!! Do you have a fever? Jeno ya you should take better care of yourself. Did you take medicines? Why are you out in the cold? You should rest up when you are sick” Jaemin rattled out. 

Jeno let him hold his hand and pull him back in. In the haze of his fever, Jaemin’s hand around his wrist felt cool.  
  
Once in, Jeno looked back at Jaemin. “Forget about me. What are you doing here? Why are you out wearing denim shorts? Aren’t you cold? I remember my mom telling me how cold she used to feel back when she was pregnant with me”  
  
Jaemin smiled at Jeno then. “No. I dont feel cold. Just the opposite really. I feel hot all the time. Symptoms do differ from mother to mother. My baby, however, keeps me warm, sometimes uncomfortably so, most of the time” 

Jaemin placed the saucepan on the dining table and turned to Jeno and said “I came here with leftover galbitang. Now your turn. Did you take medicines? How are you feeling?”  
  
“Oh! I’m full now. But you can leave it here. I’ll reheat and eat it for lunch. Donghyuck came by with jook and baesuk. I ate that for breakfast. I did take medicine after it. I feel hot, a bit, but I feel better than before.” Jeno rattled out. 

“Let me take care of you. Come on come on. Lets take you to bed alpha” Jaemin said in a baby voice.  
  
Jeno’s face heated up and he spluttered while Jaemin was pulling him towards the bedroom.  
  
This was what he wanted right? Someone to take care of him. Jaemin to take care of him. But he suddenly halted and forcefully stopped Jaemin from pulling him to the bed.  
  
“I dont think Renjun would like it if you took care of me in his absence. I mean, I know that you are a strong independent omega and Renjun is not the kind of a person to let stuff like this get to him. I know he won’t fight with you for this but still… I dont want to take chances. Renjun’s a good guy but in the end, he is a beta. I’m sure he has his insecurities and I dont want to add fuel to a fire by being the alpha his mate is taking care of. I know I sound archaic… And as much as I want you to take care of me. I respectfully decline because I just dont want any trouble between you both. I want you happy. All the time.” Jeno spoke out in a single breath.  
  
It was silent for a moment before Jaemin started laughing. He looked majestic like that, his head thrown back, standing in Jeno’s bedroom.  
  
“Renjun’s mate? Who me?? Jeno ya where did you get that idea from?? I’m not mated to Renjun.”  
  
Jeno’s eyes were as wide as saucepans.  
  
“You know how he smells like? No one can smell beta’s scents unless they are close to each other”  
  
“Yes. That’s true. But I’m not mated to Renjun. He is my best friend though. My proverbial soul mate, honestly speaking. Which is why I can smell him.”

Jeno flushed. He suddenly felt stupid for assuming that. Thinking back, Renjun had simply called him an idiot back when he assumed Jaemin to be his mate. He had never agreed with him.  
  
“I dont know why I assumed that. But you both live together, you’re pregnant and incredibly fond of each other to the point where you can smell Renjun. So I just concluded that you both are mated to one another.”  
  
Jeno was so embarrassed that he busied himself with cleaning the room. Anything to escape from looking at Jaemin. Jaemin didn’t reply anymore and also started helping Jeno. 

A few minutes later they bump into one another. Jeno holds Jaemin by the waist and stops him from falling. Jaemin looks into Jeno’s eyes and abruptly blurts out

“I know you wanted to know about my alpha before this”

Jeno let his hand drop slowly. He tried to control his expression and not let the shock expose him.

“What do you mean? I mean, I did assume that you and Renjun were mated but that is an honest mistake. Anyone who doesn’t know you both personally can have such a misconception” Jeno laughed but it sounded too loud to be genuine. 

“You liked one of my Instagram posts,” Jaemin explained with an evil smile. “And unfortunately for you, It was an old one”

Now, Jeno was never good at maintaining his composure. He was visibly freaking out. 

“How old exactly?” Jeno asked with a rueful smile and Jaemin laughed obnoxiously. 

“Oh, not that old. Just maybe three…”

Three months was not that bad, Jeno thought. 

“...years old.” Jaemin added  
  
Okay. Yes. That was bad. 

“No.” Jeno croaked and rubbed his face and Jaemin laughed some more. 

“Hey, it’s okay. Don’t beat yourself up about it. I thought it was cute and silly… Just like you” Jaemin trailed off.  
  
He looked exhausted all of a sudden.  
  
“Are you okay?” Jeno asked. 

“I just- I dont have any of his pictures.” Jaemin croaked out. He had a distant look in his eyes. 

“He was a bad person you know.” Jaemin continued. 

“Your alpha?” Jeno asked and the omega nodded.

Jaemin sat back on his bed and Jeno sat next to him. The drowsiness he felt from the medicines were long gone. Jeno attentively looked at Jaemin.  
  
“We...broke up. Some months ago.” Jaemin said. He was caressing his bump and Jeno’s eyes strayed there for a while.

“I got to know that I was pregnant at the end of August. I was almost 3 weeks pregnant. But I knew he was going to freak out and want to abort the baby. But I didn’t want to. I knew he never liked me. He hated how I looked. He hated my voice. He hated that I worked in a field filled with alphas. He hated that I attracted a lot of people. He hated me. But for some reason, I really liked him you know.” Jaemin gulped. He looked close to tears. 

“But I did end up telling him a few weeks later. And as expected he didn’t want anything to do with the baby. In fact, he declared that he didn’t want anything to do with me as well. So he threw me out of our house.” Jaemin let out a regretful laugh.  
  
“I didn’t have any friends back then too. My alpha back then, he didn’t want me hanging out with ‘bad influences’. So he isolated me. Renjun was the only friend who still put an effort to keep in touch. He hated Renjun too. He hated the fact that I could smell him. He tried his best to get Renjun to back away from me. But Renjun never gave up on me.” Jaemin smiled then.  
  
“He used to tell me how I deserved better but I wasn’t in the position to understand him. So when I was not given a welcome at my parents because they were disgusted at the fact that I got pregnant out of a marriage, I had no one but Renjun. I just got my suitcase and showed up at his doorstep, one day. I didn’t even have to ask him to let me stay over. One look at me and he knew.” 

Jaemin looked at Jeno then. “It was Renjun who deleted all his pics from my phone. When I refused to get up and work because I was too busy moping” 

Jeno looked back at Jaemin.  
  
“Jaemin-”  
  
But before he could say anything, Jaemin began pushing him back on the bed.  
  
“You should sleep, you dummy. You look close to fainting” Jaemin bellowed out.  
  
Jeno knew for a fact that it was not true. He felt way better owing to the medicines. But he didn’t speak out. Maybe Jaemin needed space.  
  
So he lets Jaemin manhandle him onto the bed. Jaemin caressed his chest in calming strokes and slowly Jeno felt his eyes droop. 

Hmmm… maybe he was tired.  
  
As he started falling into the depths of unconscious sleep, he heard Jaemin speak ruefully.  
  


“I’m really glad I met you. I’ve never met an alpha like you before. You’re so kind that it hurts and you make me feel like a teenage omega again and.. You make me want to believe in love again... I just - I wish… I wish things were different.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what are your thoughts on this chapter. I hope you liked it. Please leave comments and kudos. :D  
> [Jaemin's sweater](https://www.pinterest.es/pin/618541330054713905/)


	7. Sexiled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He didn’t want to think that Jaemin left his scent in his room, so thickly, on purpose. He didn't want to ponder over the implications of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A regular update? Never heard of her. In this house hold we post sporadically like men.   
> ALSO WARNING: Smut ahead. It's just Jeno and his imagination for now though ;)   
> If you dont like it, please skip after 'His hand unconsciously moved down'

Jeno groggily woke up, hot and sweating, a couple of hours later to a warm jasmine scented room. Jaemin was nowhere to be found though. But his scent permeated the room, almost as if it was left on purpose. As if he had marked the place intentionally. Jeno didn’t want to hope for things but Jaemin’s scent clouded his mind.

Jeno felt nauseated. He tried getting up from the bed but it felt like he couldn’t get enough oxygen. His breathing was erratic and his head still felt like it was splitting in half. He almost thought his fever had got worse but he quickly realized that he was going through a rut. He quickly made his way to the bathroom. He bent over the toilet seat and spilled his guts out.

It took an eternity for Jeno to get back on his feet. He flushed the toilet and washed his face.    
  
His rut had hit him too early. He wasn’t due for at least another 2 months. His rut coupled with the fact that he was already sick, made it incredibly hard to cope. Thankfully no one else was home. He guessed this was one of the advantages of having moved out. The presence of another alpha, even if it was his father, was something that kept wolves on the edge while on a rut. 

Jeno’s eyes were also sensitive owing to his rut and he waited in the bathroom for a while to get used to the brightness. He stared at his reflection on the mirror by the sink. His entire face was flushed, almost angrily, and his eyes were tearing up. He has a raging boner and his entire body was overly sensitive. The thing about boners was that when someone got one, it was hard to think about anything else. This feeling was exacerbated when one was going through a rut.    
  
The trip to the bathroom left Jeno exhausted and hungry. The rut, however, made it incredibly difficult to think straight. Jeno tried to move from the sink, his limbs felt like lead. He wished he could go back and sleep peacefully but he knew it was a far fetched dream now.   
  
He slowly made his way back to his bedroom. His bedroom still had the overpowering jasmine smell.  It was almost comforting. Almost being the keyword. Mostly it left his alpha restless wanting to seek it even more. Wanting to go search for its source. Wanting to drown himself in it.    
  
Jeno knew that his alpha only had this reaction for Jaemin. He had, after all, spent his ruts with rut partners before. And never had he felt his nostrils flare from excitement to breathe in the scent so much that he felt like drowning. He knew his eyes were probably edging on turning a dull shade of red. He still had his bearing though. His mind was yet to be lost to the throws of the rut.    
  
He quickly grabbed his phone to shoot a text to his friends. The last thing he wanted was to attack his friends now. He noticed a text from Donghyuck. 

**  
** **Haechan**

Renjun is not Jaemin’s mate

**Jenojam**   
I know now.    
But how do you know?   
  


  
Jeno quickly typed a reply to Donghyuck and moved to his group chat. He was walking out of the bedroom slowly and into the hall. His legs were aching and heavy. He opened his main door and placed a rut sign on his door so as to not have any alphas coming in his territory. 

  
  


**Dumb, dumber, dumbest** **  
** **  
  
**

**Jenojam**

I feel like dying

He got a reply from Jisung almost immediately. The boy lived in his phone.  **  
** **  
** **Mochisung**   
Dejavu.    
Didn’t Haechan hyung drop by?

**Jenojam**   
He did   
I am going through a rut   
Just thought of informing you   
Ok gtg 

  
  


  
Jeno didn’t know how he got back to his bedroom. He stood next to his bed and inhaled deeply. He knew he should stop. He knew he should probably go out and spend his rut in the hall even if it was something he didn’t want to do. He should at least start airing out the room. Maybe Jaemin wasn’t aware of what he was doing. Maybe it was a side effect of pregnancy. Jeno shouldn’t take advantage of his vulnerability.    
  
But he couldn’t. His room smelled otherworldly. Especially now as his own minty scent was slowly permeating the air and mixing with the jasmine. Their scents were blending together the longer he stood there and Jeno could feel his dick getting harder and harder. He knew he should stop. He knew he should stop when he could still think properly. He probably shouldn’t aggravate his alpha further. 

Jeno felt goosebumps on his skin and owing to the sensitivity his entire body felt like bees. He felt like he was suffocating even though he was getting lungfuls of air. Jeno gasped a few more times, tried to breathe shallowly in a weak attempt to get himself under control. He should seriously move back to the hall. 

But he felt hazy. He inhaled deeply again and felt something switch inside of him and any inhibitions he had were gone. It felt like Jaemin was there with him. Jeno knew he was gone then. 

His alpha was so desperately trying to take over. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he would regret this. It was desperately inhaling more of Jaemin’s scent and simultaneously permeating the air with his pheromones. It was howling but it held a sadness to it. It needed Jaemin next to him.    
  
Inhaling this second-hand scent wasn’t enough. He needed Jaemin’s heavenly scent directly from the source. Jeno’s breathing soon became erratic as he inhaled more of the omega’s scent. He stood there in this dilatory state, gasping and desperately trying to catch his breath. His hand unconsciously moved down.

Ah fuck. It wasn’t the first time he’d gotten hard over Jaemin. But never this hard. 

He was getting hotter by the second, uncomfortably so. He quickly stripped himself bare. He let himself fall on his bed and noticed that his sheets were damp from sweating. It felt disgusting but he couldn’t care less, mainly because he knew it was pointless to change it when it would be soiled by again anyways.

He inhaled the clogged air again and by now their scents had mingled so much more but he could still pick out Jaemin’s jasmine. 

Jeno knew that there was no way that Jaemin’s scent was still overpowering his. The truth was that Jeno’s body was hyper-focused on it to the point where he couldn’t smell anything other than jasmine and mint.

Jeno felt his cock twitch. He was leaking precum and it looked so red. It was almost painful not to give it attention at this point. He wanted friction so badly. He took another deep breath and let his alpha slowly take over.    
  
He slowly turned around and laid on his stomach. He was so sensitive that he whimpered at the feeling of his dick brushing against his blankets. It was almost irritating that his eyes were still tearing up from being light sensitive. 

He was rutting very slowly against his bed in a desperate attempt to relieve the ache and after a while, it felt a little better. Jeno found himself grunting and moaning vehemently.

The discomfort grew so much at one point that for more friction, Jeno picked up the pace, moaning as he added a pillow between his legs to make it feel better. The angle was better and the pillow was softer than the mattress. He kept chasing the feeling of friction but it felt like he wouldn’t ever be sated.    
  
Jeno’s alpha seemed to have these wants. Wants which were, for the lack of a better word, dangerous. It kept wanting to seek out the owner of the scent which was driving it crazy.   
  
But Jeno had more self-control and even though it felt like he was at war with himself, he would die before succumbing to the dangerous wants his alpha seemed to be asking Jeno of.

Jeno had his face buried on the mattress and he came up for air. He felt dazed and his muscles ached. But there was still this thick layer of arousal which refused to go away. This rut was triggered early and despite being gone by it, Jeno couldn't help but think if Jaemin scent marked his room on purpose.    
  
Jeno tried to shake this idea away but he couldn't and the more he thought about it the truer it felt. His alpha was having a field trip with this idea and it invigorated it further, making Jeno rut faster against the pillow. 

The alpha’s entire body was literally dripping now and the pillow was soaked. He felt a heat slowly creeping in the pit of his stomach and he chased this feeling. It slowly spread throughout his body and before he knew it, he came embarrassingly hard. He groaned because it took him by surprise.

Jeno gasped for a few seconds trying to catch his breath. He tried to move so that he could lie on his back and felt his cum smearing against his thighs. He felt queasy and thoroughly annoyed but his dick was unsurprisingly still hard. He reached down to wrap his hands around his length and flinched at how sensitive he felt. It was impossibly hard and pulsating in his hand.

Jaemin’s scent was still present in the room, albeit a little weaker now. Jeno’s alpha was getting anxious because of it and was releasing pheromones which in turn caused the scent to grow weaker.

Suddenly an image of Jaemin popped into Jeno’s head. It was so vivid that he felt like Jaemin was right there, on the bed with Jeno. It felt like he was hallucinating but Jeno could smell the omega so clearly suddenly. Beautiful eyes, hazy and waiting. Waiting for him. 

Jeno reached back for his sensitive cock. With renewed vigor and the image of Jaemin lying there, waiting for him, he started pumping it. His body was completely spent but he couldn't slow down. Jeno picked up the pace and the more he thought about it, the clearer the picture of Jaemin formed in his head.

He felt his dick twitch at the image of a very naked Jaemin. He looked beautiful, all splayed out on the bed, milky skin, and a toned belly. He imagined Jaemin’s smooth, toned legs bared for him. Wearing that cute apron of his, his strong thighs, pushed together barely covered by the apron. 

Jaemin’s thighs seemed so heavenly, covered in a thin layer of sweat. His entire body was sheen with it, even his pink hair which framed his face in damp strands. Jeno slowly imagined splaying his hands over Jaemin’s thighs, spreading them apart. He imagined leaving a trail of bruising kisses, marking Jaemin up, until he was whining to stop.

Jeno’s hands were moving harder and faster while his mind was thinking filthier things he would do with Jaemin. He could imagine Jaemin’s moans with clarity, whining for more. He thrust into his palms rougher than before and the moans were ringing in his ears. 

He imagined pounding into Jaemin’s heat while bruising up his neck. Jaemin would scratch his back as he thrust back for more, whining for him to go harder. Jeno imagined kissing and leaving red marks all over Jaemin’s body. He imagined fucking into the omega, imagined Jaemin begging for his cock, for Jeno to fuck him good. He was so unbelievably horny for Jaemin that his moans in his imagination were clear as day.

He imagined Jaemin cumming, his face painted in ecstasy as Jeno kept a relentless pace. Jaemin would whine in his ear "When are you gonna come?"

With every stroke, Jeno felt the lines between his imagination and reality blurring. His cock was pulsating, balls painfully tight and he could feel a knot forming, hurting at the base. His body was going rigid, slowly building up to a climax. Jeno moaned as he came in his hand for the second time, his cum painting his hand and abdomen white. 

Jeno’s eyes rolled back from and he felt his cock slowly softening. He knew it won't be long before he felt the second wave of rut take over him. His breath was slowly steadying itself. Jeno’s alpha slowly receded and Jeno gradually became aware of what he just did.

'I just came with Jaemin in my thoughts.’ He tried not to think about it. He felt guilty but he knew that he will go through this again despite trying his best not to. 

His mind kept drifting back to the image of Jaemin, laying on his bed, covered in his cum.

He had briefly imagined Jaemin begging him to cum inside him, begging him to let him carry Jeno’s pups. Jeno’s brain reeling with confusion because while he had never actively thought about this his alpha had let its imagination run wild.

After all, it wasn't hard to imagine how Jaemin looked like all round with pups. It wasn’t hard to imagine Jaemin still begging Jeno to fill him up despite being pregnant. 

Jeno slowly sniffed the air and Jaemin’s scent was almost gone now due to how overpowering his own scent was but he couldn't stop thinking that Jaemin knew what he was doing.

Jeno slowly walked out of his room and went into the kitchen to rehydrate and replenish himself before the second wave hit him. He got out a bowl for cereal and looked around for Bongsik. He set a bowl of canned fish for it for later.    
  
Jeno kept thinking about Jaemin and how his rut was triggered. He didn’t want to think that Jaemin left his scent in his room, so thickly, on purpose. He didn't want to ponder over the implications of it. But with the way he was unable to get it out of his head, Jeno knew it was best to confront Jaemin about it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sksksk I have nothing to say but I hope you liked it. Please leave comments if you did. Thank you for reading.


End file.
